"The Terrible Swift Sword" continues Bruce Catton's journey through the Civil in this, the middle book in his trilogy. Covering the period from the summer of 1861 through the fall of 1862, Catton leads the reader through the military, political and social aspects of the war.

Here we meet Charles Francis Adams, American Ambassador in London as he maneuvers to maintain British neutrality while British cloth industry manufacturers and laborers scream for Southern cotton. The story of the Eastern front in this book is essentially the story of the McClellan era. The close relationship between McClellan and the Army of the Potomac was a unique and mutual exchange of devotion and affection. In the Western theatre, the reader studies the battles of Shiloh and others which led to the gradual deterioration of the Confederate position in the Western states.

One enticing feature about Catton's books is his talent for weaving the political aspects of the war into the story. In this book we see the gradual shift of Union War aims from that of preservation of the Union to preservation with Emancipation. The investigation of McClellan's role is fascinating. Catton relates how McClellan was a conservative Democrat even before the war. Catton portrays McClellan as leader of the opposition to the administration with the army of the Potomac as his instrument of power.

The relationship between the Army and its general forced decisions regarding McClellan's tenure to be made against the back drop of the possibility that McClellan could lead his Army on Washington in an effort to seize control of the government during the prevailing unrest. Ultimately, the decline of the Conservative Democrats, whose goal was the preservation of both the Union and slavery, and the rise of the Pro-Emancipation forces combined to drive McClellan from command and made his removal possible.

This portrayal of McClellan as a leader of the opposition makes Lincoln's toleration of him contrast with President Polk's active efforts to prevent Whig generals, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, from capturing Mexican War glory which could lead to political success. The later role of Gen. MacArthur as a defacto opposition leader during the Korean war also comes to mind (see my Amazon review of "American Caesar").

"The Terrible Swift Sword" continues the evolution of the war from a limited conflict in which the hope of reconciliation still burned, to an unavoidable, all consuming, fight to the death. The cause which brought about this change was the shift of war aims from mere preservation of the Union, which had a chance of success, to the aim of Emancipation. As the South could not accept Emancipation, the North became unable to accept anything less. This book is a worthy successor to "The Coming Fury" (see my Amazon review). I cannot wait to get into the final volume "Never Call Retreat".